SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's water polo team saw its season come to an end on Saturday, as the Sunbirds fell to Air Force 13-9 at the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships at Sullivan Aquatics Center.
 
FPU ends the season at 9-20 overall, while AFA improves to 10-16 overall and moves on to the fifth-place game.
 
David Maes led the Sunbirds with five goals and two assists, while Taylor Heckathorn, Garrett Pickford, Kyle Madel and Jacob Fairchild rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. Dillon Robinson led the defense with 15 saves.
 
After a tight first quarter, FPU allowed six goals in the second quarter to fall behind 9-5 at the half. The Sunbirds scored four times in the second half, but it wasn't enough as the Falcons held on for the win.
 
The Sunbirds capitalized on 5-of-11 man-up opportunities, but were out-shot 41-33 on the day. The Falcons scored four times on power-plays and managed two five-meter goals to make the difference.
 
"It's never the way we want to end the season, but the guys played hard," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "We shifted a couple of roles for this last game and the guys stepped up. I'm proud of how we played this season, earning honors our program has never done before. It continues to raise the bar for our program and expectations for future teams. The seniors will be missed, but we are excited about the returners and our future."
 
The Sunbirds, who reached the national rankings this season for the first time in program history, graduate Maes, Madel, Robinson, Jamison Shapland and Steven Kaufmann, but return a solid young core behind Fairchild and Kyle Eoff.